Integrated territorial investments: place-based cohesion policy in practice?

Regional policy in Europe faces increasingly complex and interrelated barriers to development. The concept of ‘place-based’ policymaking is currently prominent in academic and practitioner communities as a means of addressing complex and interrelated development challenges facing different territories. This concept espouses initiatives that include an explicit territorial focus, an integrated, multi-sectoral approach to strategic development and a multi-level system of governance that emphasises the contribution of local authorities and local communities. For the 2014-20 programme period, EU Cohesion policy (CP) introduced a range of innovative territorial delivery mechanisms, including Integrated Territorial Investments (ITI), to pursue these place-based organising principles and these are also being implemented in the 2021-27 period. Debate on the future of CP beyond 2027 involves assessment of its territorial coverage, strategic priorities and governance models and experience of implementing these territorial instruments is important in informing discussions. Against this background, this paper considers first how ITIs align with the core principles of a placebased approach and, second, the benefits and challenges they create for CP practitioners. To do so, this paper draws on an extensive academic and policy literature review and longitudinal qualitative research among CP practitioners.